Formal communication: what is it and what are its characteristics?

These are the characteristics of formal communication, typical of the organizational context.

We all know different communication styles and we use one or the other depending on the context in which we find ourselves.

One of the most important is that of formal communication.. In these paragraphs we can learn all about this style, discover the frameworks in which it is usually used and what are its main features and advantages over other communication models.

What is formal communication and what are its characteristics?

Formal communication is a communicative style used in professional and institutional contexts.. It is a regulated method in which colloquial words are not allowed, since the tone used must always be cultured and aseptic. We can also call formal communication the flow of information that takes place between the different levels within the hierarchy of an organization, and that will be framed within the set of rules we mentioned before.

The flow of formal communication can be either spoken or written. Generally, interactions that are resolved in a brief manner are carried out in an oral conversation. However, communications that require more extensive or complex information are usually written and transmitted to the interlocutors by the chosen means (circulars, e-mails, postal mails, memorandums, etc.).

Another characteristic of formal communication is that it it works through protocols known to both senders and receivers.These protocols involve, for example, the paths that messages must take, within the hierarchy. These protocols involve, for example, the paths that messages must take, within the hierarchy. Thus, an employee will know that he must send certain information to his manager, and the manager in turn must transmit the information to his superior, but they cannot skip the intermediate step.

In other words, each member of the organization involved in this formal communication must know in advance what information he or she must send to his or her manager. must know in advance which message is to be sent to which person, in what form it is to be sent, and which route the information must follow in order to reach its destination in the right way. to reach its destination in a correct way.

Types of formal communication

Depending on the direction we use to transmit the information, we can establish up to four different types of formal communication. Let us proceed to see all of them in more detail.

Formal upward communication

When in the organization, an employee tries to communicate with one of his or her managers, be it the immediate superior or someone above him or her, we would speak of formal upward communication.In this case, we would speak of formal upward communication. It is a vertical form of message transmission, with a bottom-up direction. An example of the messages that can be sent in this way would be the reports that have been requested, but also requests for a specific matter and even complaints that you want to make clear.

2. Formal top-down communication

The opposite case to the previous one would be that of formal top-down communication. In this model, information is also transmitted vertically, but this time from the top down. In other words, it is the managers and supervisors who are transmitting information to the employees under their charge.. They can send, for example, instructions on the tasks to be performed and how to perform them. They can do this orally or in writing, depending on the information they wish to send.

3. Formal horizontal communication

Not all formal communication in the organization is addressed to people at another hierarchical level. When the message is sent to another worker who occupies the same rank, we are talking about horizontal formal communication.When the message is sent to another employee of the same rank, we are talking about formal horizontal communication, since the flow of information is directed laterally.

This model is clearly observed in the meetings of the different department heads, since in them several individuals from independent sections communicate, but all of them are in the same position as managers or directors.

4. Diagonal formal communication

There is a less frequent type of formal communication, but it can still occur, and that is diagonal. This modality would occur when the two interlocutors belong to different departments but also to different hierarchical levels..

It may be the case that a manager of a particular section of the company needs to pass on information to employees who are not under his or her responsibility, but who are lower down the company structure. This would be an example of a case of formal diagonal communication.

Strengths of this communicative style.

Formal communication involves a number of advantages as opposed to informal communication. Let's take a look at the most important ones.

1. Standardization

Using this method ensures equality in all the communicative processes of the organization, so that all members can know how to proceed when transmitting information.The standardized model allows for a clear understanding of the rules and procedures, choosing the right way and form, and at the same time for all of them to be able to interpret the messages that reach them without any doubt. It is a standardized model that allows a clear understanding of the rules and procedures.

2. Error-free

The fact of using pre-established rules and always following the same procedures has an additional advantage, and that is that it does not allow errors to be generated, beyond the human errors that could be committed outside these rules. The important thing is that by following the protocols indicated, information should flow through the organization without any difficulty and without generating doubts among the interlocutors..

3. Footprint

Formal communication has another clear advantage, and that is that all interactions that take place in written form are archived and therefore are archived and can therefore be reviewed at any time to retrieve specific information. to retrieve specific information.

Logically, this is not the case with formal oral communication, but we have already mentioned that this type of interaction is used to send very concise messages. All those that have a certain level of complexity should be transmitted in writing, and therefore will be recorded.

Weaknesses of formal communication

Logically, not all the qualities of formal communication are positive. There are also several disadvantages that we should be aware of.

1. Time cost

The fact of following rather rigid protocols means that sometimes formal communication implies an unnecessary waste of time for a company. an unnecessary expenditure of time for the transmission of information that in reality could be done in a much shorter time.. This is the case of those interminable meetings in which the message is transmitted among the attendees in a non-efficient way, when in fact it could be done in a more direct way, but it would imply renouncing to the standardized communication channels of the organization.

2. Coldness

Formal communication causes messages to be transmitted in a cold way, often without a human touch that makes interactions warmer and makes this communication much more impersonal than the informal style. In addition, the rigidity of the rules also limits the communicative style of the limits the sender's communicative style, sometimes dehumanizing the transmission of the message and causing the receiver to perceive it in a more impersonal way. and causing the receiver to perceive it in a more lukewarm way.

3. Confusion

The rules of formal communication should not permit this, but it is sometimes inevitable that it will sometimes it is inevitable that some confusion is generated around the message received.. This happens when the transmission of information requires several hops between different interlocutors, generating the possibility that at each of these points the original message is distorted and the message that is ultimately received is not exactly the same as the first.

Avenues for improvement

Formal communication has room for improvement, and there are several recommendations that can make this way of transmitting information within companies more efficient. Here are some of them.

1. Limit formalism

It is obvious that formal communication requires decorum in the delivery of the message, but sometimes this excess of formal expressions can lead to a lack of decorum.However, sometimes this excess of formal expressions can generate an extremely serious tone that the receiver could interpret as negative, when the message can be neutral and even go in the opposite direction. For example, a department manager may send an e-mail to his subordinates to talk about their performance, which in principle is good, but use such a serious tone that they interpret it negatively.

2. Review

This recommendation should apply to any type of communication, but much more to formal communication. It is essential to proofread texts before sending them.Sometimes, haste can lead us to make a series of spelling, grammatical or even content errors, which can cause problems in the interpretation of the message, and this can have serious repercussions within the organization. Let's imagine, for example, that we instruct a worker to send 5000 units of a product, instead of 500.

3. Reception

A good rule of thumb is to ask the receiver for confirmation that the message has been received correctly. Currently there are tools in the e-mails that inform us when the recipient has received our e-mail.In such cases, we do not even have to ask for such confirmation explicitly.

4. Correct use

The last recommendation would be to use formal communication only for matters concerning the organization.. Any matter outside the company should not be dealt with through these channels, and trying to send a personal message through an institutional channel will only cause problems, since it is not the appropriate channel.

Bibliographical references:

• Andrade, H. (2005). Comunicación organizacional interna: proceso, disciplina y técnica. Netbiblo.
• Rojas, D. (1994). Técnicas de comunicación ejecutiva. McGraw-Hill Interamericana.
• Simon, H.A., Gómez, J. (1993). Communication. Administrative behavior.